New – from leading research

The development of endospore bacteria suitable for inclusion in capsules is one reason experts’ minds are changing about the viability of probiotic supplementation.

This type of bacteria has evolved over time to develop a ‘shell’ – the endospore. The shell is a dormant, tough, non-reproductive structure that protects the bacteria against extremes of heat, cold, moisture, dehydration, enzymatic destruction and even UV radiation.

The 25 million year old bacterium!

How hardy are these endospore bacteria?

Well, scientists at California State University, who were examining the stomach content of a fossilised bee that had been trapped inside amber for 25 million years, found it contained viable Bacillus bacterial endospores.

In fact ‘endo-‘ means ‘inside’ and ‘-spore’ refers to a ‘dormant structure’.

Now developed for use as probiotic supplements

Nebraska University has specialised in probiotic research for over 85 years. Scientists there have now developed probiotic bacteria with the same shell mechanism that preserved the bacillus endospore bacteria in suspended animation within that bee.

These strains are able to survive the harsh acids of the bile duct and stomach and the anaerobic (no oxygen) environment of your intestines.

The protective shell means that Bacillus coagulans ProDURA™ remains in a state of ‘suspended animation’, resisting the acidity of the stomach to reach the gut where the conditions there activate it.

Once endospore bacteria reach the small intestine, the shell disintegrates, so the bacteria remain in the gut and can reproduce to form a colony.